Erika D. Smith, Columnist

Trump Just Gave Democrats a Gift in California

April 8, 2026 at 11:30 AM UTC

Erika D. Smith is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. She is a former Los Angeles Times columnist and Sacramento Bee editorial board member.

Hanging in the balance.
Photographer: Matthieu Delaty/AFP/Getty Images

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California Governor Gavin Newsom owes President Donald Trump a “thank you.” That won’t happen, of course. Yet, it’s the best way to understand the political ramifications of what Trump did this week by making an endorsement in the race for Newsom’s successor, even as the governor has avoided doing the same.

The result is more likely to hurt Republicans than help them. But Democrats still have lots of their own problems in California.